We are in the process of hand fabricating a piece of custom jewelry – a palladium engagement ring for a client and thought we would show you how a hand fabricated piece starts out and explain a little how the process works.
A truly hand fabricated piece of jewelry is different from a traditional lost wax/cast process. With a custom lost wax process, the wax model is carved by hand or carved with a machine (CAM). This wax is then used to directly cast in metal the final piece of jewelry. With a hand fabricated piece, we start out with a piece of metal, like the metal rod shown here. The metal is then worked (filed, hammered, shaped, etc.) by hand into the shape of the final piece. So, rather than carve a wax and cast from the wax, a hand fabricated piece is literally made entirely from hand. It is a much more difficult process to do.
Some pieces are better off being hand fabricated than cast. For example, jewelry that has very fine scroll detail or gallery sections that require fine, intricate polishing are great candidates for hand fabrication. This piece will have very long, smooth curves, and hand fabrication will give us a smoother, more even finish when we’re through.
We’ll try to get some pictures of this ring mid process and post to the blog.
Looking for a platinum alternative? Try palladium (click here for additional information).